Elk M1 output 2

Is output 2 (Siren) treated like the other outputs? I am trying to remote control output 2 from my iPhone (I want to hear how far the siren sounds) but I cannot activate output 2 through the my iPhone eKeypad. I can see it on eyKeypad and it seems to be performing the switch but nothing happens. I can activate all other outputs including output 1 (speaker)

I am coming to this conclusion. But I can trigger output 2 from a rule... whenever F3 turn output 2 on for 5 seconds.... I guess I just want to know if it is normal behaviour as I went through the M1 manual and saw noting on this

I do know that people do it via rules - lots of people chirp their siren for different purposes... but I believe I heard that before too, that you can't turn it on directly. This isn't something I feel like testing though!

I do know that people do it via rules - lots of people chirp their siren for different purposes... but I believe I heard that before too, that you can't turn it on directly. This isn't something I feel like testing though!

Absolutely correct. I chirp the siren when someone gets close to my boat when the alarm is activated. For the remote control of out 2 just wanted to know if it was normal behaviour of not being able to control. As I said the idea was to do it for a final test. I even tried it with a task.... turn on for 1 second and that too does not work remotely.....So I will just skip this. Now finishing off my last part of installation (controlling my outside Infra Red heaters with my M1 and UPB) and will then be cleaning off some of the things that should not be accessible remotely such as Sirens, water pumps, etc..

This might seem like a silly question, but is there any straightforward way (using ElkRP) to configure the M1 to trigger output2 (siren) *only* when a smoke detector on Zone16 triggers a 'fire' alarm?

Specifically, I don't want output2 to trigger the siren when the burglar alarm goes off. The safety of my cats is more important to me than anything I own, and if a burglar smashes a window or leaves the door open, I don't want the siren to scare my cats and induce them to run outside (I live by a major 6-lane road, made worse by hundreds of 2-4 foot feral iguanas that roam the area. Seriously. The iguanas are big enough to injure or kill a cat.) Fire is a special case -- if I'm forced outside before I can rescue them, I *want* them to run outside if they can. Plus, I keep the speaker's volume intentionally low (to avoid scaring my cats. I figure the burglar will hear it just fine as it calmly informs him that the police have been notified. ;-)

You could run it through Out 3, however I can foresee some output trouble when the relay changes state and disconnects the siren/speaker manually. I'm sure you could possible run via cutoff timers, but I believe that will also affect Out 1's operation.

Playing devil's advocate, but if the only time Out 2 is desired to fire is during a fire event, why even bother really using it? You could, however install (if not already there) a siren and control that via Out 3 and forgo any supervision issues the panel would call out on Out 2.

Speaker -- let me know which door just opened (if I'm home when someone enters), and to let *me* know the alarm was accidentally triggered if I (or a houseguest) accidentally opens a door or window when in 'stay' mode.

M1G itself -- alert me using Google C2DM via the android app I'm developing that interacts with the M1 via a serial-ethernet bridge through an Arduino acting like a firewall (I'm not insane enough to expose the M1's serial port directly to the internet.) I looked at the M1XEP, but wasn't satisfied with its capabilities. I wanted to have it notify an Android app I'm writing via C2DM, and didn't see any obvious way to implement it (at least, not from the documentation on the M1XEP I was able to scrape up), so I went with plan B: roll my own hardware ;-)

Out 1 would be sufficient for internal speakers and general speaker usage. Then, by strapping out Out 2, you would not have supervision issues appearing, then use Out 3, with an appropriate power source for the oustide siren via Out 3 and a rule.

Are you not using Out 1 for inside speakers and only Out 2 for the system notification purposes?

OUT2 is already the most appropriate power source. OUT3 handles switching between the siren and the 2.2K resistor.

I'd feel better if the configuration is benched to verify no issues arise when the panel switches OUT 3 on and connects OUT 2 to the siren.

Without metering the circuits in question, it is very possible the internal driver on the siren has more resistancce than the 2.2K EOLR which is going to now be in parallel with the load, which may or may not fire.

I'd also be unsure if the panel will pick up the switch in loads as they happen and generate the OUT 2 trouble or if the event happens fast enough to avoid this.

Without metering the circuits in question, it is very possible the internal driver on the siren has more resistancce than the 2.2K EOLR which is going to now be in parallel with the load, which may or may not fire.

I do know it's perfectly fine to leave the stock resistor in place of the speaker, even during alarm situations; as outdoor sirens get banned in more places, it's not uncommon to run them that way and it doesn't hurt them.

I see your point on the switching, but I'd bet it's fast enough to not hurt it... then again, no way to know without actual testing.

I wasn't referring to whether or not the 2.2K can be left on the terminals or not, that's already established.

I was referring to wiring a siren in parallel with the bell terminals and a 2.2K, using OUT 3 to provide either the + or - switched to drive the siren, which may or may not function based on what sort of resistance the internal siren driver within the siren itself has in relation to the 2.2K resistor.

Basic electrical, it takes the path of least resistance, so if the load itself via the driver's circuit board is higher than the 2.2K, it won't ever work since it won't get any voltage.

I wouldn't be worried about hurting the board, I'd be wondering about all the trouble events showing up in the panel when it's getting driven, especially when it's doing a temp-3 pulse.

We too, have plenty of juristictions that have banned outside sirens as well.